The Lost Pete
by Supervillegirl
Summary: The Warehouse 13 team races against time to save one of their own. Will they rescue him before it's too late? Set after Season 3, "Don't Hate the Player."
1. Chapter 1

The Lost Pete

Chapter One

**Guess what? I'm back! And to commemorate my return to FanFiction, here is my first ever Warehouse 13 story!**

Endless wonder.

That's what lines each of the towering shelves filling the massive warehouse. Each item buried in this vault screamed of it. The aisles practically sparked of this unique supernatural charge. The historic relics and family heirlooms on every shelf emitted a field of mysterious electricity that would build and build until it discharged itself in one big ball along the aisles.

If you peered close enough, you could even recognize a few: John Wilkes Booth's boot, Robin Hood's crossbow, Alfred Hitchcock's showerhead, Elizabeth Bathory's bathtub. Each artifact held its own story and, thus, its own side effect.

In one aisle, you would find George Reeves' eyeglasses. Once worn, they give the wearer the increased eyesight of his character Superman. Unfortunately, they will also cause you to be shot through the head if worn anytime between midnight and seven a.m.

In another aisle, Man Ray's camera lay on the shelf, its recovery and deactivation proving to almost be an agent's undoing.

In another aisle, you would find the Niagara Falls barrel. It allows a person to survive falls from high places. It also gives said person the strong desire to do it again.

It was for these reasons and so much more that each of these artifacts was hunted down and placed in the Warehouse, where it could do no more harm. If properly placed and maintained, that is. Which had prompted the discussion among the agents in the office upstairs.

"It is **so** your turn to flush the Gooery!" Warehouse Agent Myka Bering said with an accusatory finger pointed at her partner.

"Me?" exclaimed Agent Pete Lattimer. "You took a sick day last time! I had to do it! And it puked all over me!"

"I **had** to take that sick day because **you** whammied me with Howard Hughes' cane!" Myka shouted back.

"Hey, I have apologized about that time and time again!" Pete told her. "It was an accident!"

"It's still your turn!" Myka insisted.

"Enough, you two!" their boss Artie Nielsen shouted as he turned in his seat at his desk. "You can both go flush the Gooery!"

"But, Artie—" they began.

"Now!" Artie told them, going back to his computer.

Myka huffed out a sigh as she thumped her hands onto her hips, pursing her lips and jutting her neck sideways a little. She glared at Pete, pointing a finger at him. "This is your fault." She marched towards the door that lead to the rest of the warehouse.

"My fault?" exclaimed Pete, going after her. "If you would have just taken your turn, princess."

"It was never my turn," Myka argued back as they headed out onto the balcony. "You were—"

"Don't start with that," said Pete. "This is the third time in a row that I've…"

Their voices faded away as they headed down the stairs to the warehouse floor.

"Will those two ever get through one day _without_ bickering?" Artie grumbled, putting in his search parameters for a new case.

The door of the umbilicus opened, and Claudia Donovan and Steve Jinks walked in.

"Did we just hear yelling?" asked Claudia.

"Oh, that," Artie brushed off. "That was nothing."

"Where are Pete and Myka?" asked Steve.

"They're the nothing cleaning out the Gooery," Artie told him.

"Oh," said Claudia, jumped over next to Artie's chair. "Got a new case? I could take care of it for you! Senior Agent Claudia Donovan to the rescue!"

"No," said Artie. "Nothing."

"Oh," said Claudia, deflating and plopping down into the other chair at the desk to wait for a ping.

********************************************************************W13*********************************************************

Pete and Myka made their way out of the Gooery, taking their purple gloves off and tossing them in the garbage bin just outside the door.

"Well, that was easy, for once," said Myka.

"Yeah, I know," said Pete. "Usually, one of us breaks something."

"Don't you mean 'you'?" Myka pointed out with a smile.

"Hey, that only happened twice!" Pete defended himself. "Claudia was the one that almost made it explode that one time!"

"Okay, okay, I'll give you that," nodded Myka. "You have never almost blown the Gooery up."

"Thank you, my lady," said Pete with a little bow.

"You are welcome," Myka responded with a chuckle.

They turned down an aisle as they made their way back towards the office.

"Hey, Mykes?" Pete spoke up.

"Yeah?" asked Myka.

"Got any pudding?" asked Pete.

Myka frowned as she gave him an exasperated look. "Why…would I have pudding, Pete?"

Pete shrugged. "Just asking. I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," said Myka.

"Hey, artifact hunting burns a lot of calories," said Pete. "How do you think I stay in such good shape? I mean, you don't just **get** a body like this." He began to pull his shirt up to show her. "You gotta—"

Myka held her hands up. "Pete, I have seen your shirtless before. Please don't."

Pete let the hem of his shirt fall back down to his waist. "You're just jealous."

"Oh, yeah, I'm jealous," said Myka. "That's it."

"Hey, you never know when you won't be able to look again," said Pete.

"I think I'll survive," said Myka.

****************************************************************W13************************************************************

Steve sat at the table by the door, flipping through a book as he waited. Claudia was spinning in her chair, at a loss for something to do. Artie just kept typing away at the computer, searching for stray artifacts.

Claudia spotted a gold statue of a minotaur on the corner of Artie's desk. "Oh! New bling!" She jumped up to reach for it.

"Don't touch!" Artie yelled suddenly, spinning towards her with wide eyes. "That's the idol that buried Atlantis!"

Claudia immediately pulled away from it, frowning at Artie. "Really?"

"Yes," said Artie. "Any human contact triggers it. That's what caused Vesuvius to bury Pompeii in AD 79."

"You're saying this thing is responsible for the destruction of Pompeii?" asked Steve, pointing at the innocent-looking statue.

"**And **the burial of Te Wairoa in the eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886, the sinking of Heracleion in AD 7, the burial of Plymouth, Montserrat by the Soufriere Hills volcano in 1995, and the burial of the Greek city Helike in the earthquake and tidal wave of 373 BC," Artie went on.

"Wow…" said Steve, staring in apprehension at the idol.

"It is one of the most destructive artifacts in existence," said Artie. "So, don't…touch."

"If it's so dangerous, why is it still sitting out in the open?" Claudia asked.

"Leena is still trying to find a spot in the dark vault that agrees with it," Artie explained, going back to his computer.

"Agrees with it?" Steve asked, not understanding.

"Yeah, each artifact has to go in a certain spot or it'll act up," Claudia explained. "Believe me, we don't want them acting up."

The alarm on the computer went off, alerting them to an artifact that was acting up."

Artie pulled up the report. "Phoenix, Arizona. Three people have gone missing in the last week." He put a hand to his chin, thinking through his options. "It could be Jimmy Hoffa's ring. Or Amelia Earhart's compass."

"Ooh, ooh, me!" Claudia exclaimed. "This one has me written all over it."

"You still need to write the report from the last one," said Artie. "Go get Myka and Pete. They'll take this one."

Claudia huffed out a sigh. "Fine. Come on, Jinksy." She headed out the door as Steve followed her.

***********************************************************W13********************************************************************

Pete and Myka rounded a corner of a warehouse aisle, apparently still discussing food.

"What about cheesecake?" asked Pete.

Myka shrugged. "I don't know. I've never had much stomach for it."

"What?" Pete exclaimed. "How can you not like cheesecake? It's awesome!"

"Eh," said Myka.

"Well, you have to like pumpkin pie," Pete told her.

"Who doesn't?" said Myka.

Pete clapped a hand to his heart in relief. "Oh, thank God. She's human."

Myka laughed as they took another turn down an aisle.

"Myka! Pete!"

"Is that Claudia?" Myka asked in response to the faint voice.

"Myka!"

"And Steve," said Pete, raising his voice. "Over here! We're in, uh…" He looked around at the shelves of artifacts around them.

Myka rolled her eyes, raising her own voice. "Allentown C!"

"Got it!" Claudia called back.

Myka looked over at Pete. "You are never going to read the manual, are you?"

"Not likely," Pete responded, sitting on a crate in front of the shelves as they waited for their fellow agents to find them.

"So, basically, you're just going to rely on _me_ for all the rules," said Myka.

Pete nodded. "Yep."

Myka sighed.

Pete looked over at one of the artifacts on the shelf: a pen and sheaf of paper. He read the placard next to it. "Stephen King's first draft of _The Shining_. Wonder what **that** was like to snag."

Myka stepped over to the shelf and began reading. "'Induces psychotic behavior, causing a person to kill their family.' Wow."

"You ever wonder if every urban legend, fairy tale and story has an artifact somewhere out there?" asked Pete.

Myka frowned as she turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"You know, Peter Pan, Bloody Mary, Snow White…" Pete rattled off. "The next case we go on could be Sherlock Holmes' pipe, and I wouldn't really be surprised."

"Actually, Sherlock Holmes' violin is in the Westminster aisle," Myka replied off handedly.

Pete jumped to his feet. "No way! Which way is Westminster?" He took off through the aisle.

"Pete!" Myka called, starting to go after him. "Wait! What about—"

At the end of the aisle, Pete collided with Claudia.

"Claudia!" Myka called, rushing towards them.

Pete bounced back from the run-in, hitting the shelf behind him.

"No, no!" Myka exclaimed as she rushed to brace the shelf with the others.

"Whoa!" Claudia exclaimed as they righted the shelf.

A set of blueprints rolled off of the shelf above them and toppled towards the floor.

"Ooh, get it, get it!" Steve told them.

Pete and Myka made a grab for them, but they hit the floor, lighting up and starting to emit a growing hum.

"What's happening?" asked Pete, staring in trepidation at the artifact. "What's it doing?"

Myka quickly looked up at the sign it had fallen from.

_David E. Miller's blueprints…He invented the first electro-magnetic pulse simulator…_

Myka looked back down at the glowing blueprints as the hum grew in pitch, winding up for something. "Take cover!"

"What?" said Pete. "Why?"

Myka turned to throw herself to the floor, and the others took their cue from her. As they darted for cover, a shockwave ripped itself from the blueprints, hitting all of them and throwing them down the aisle.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

**Sorry about the slow update. Getting back into fan fiction is a lot harder than I thought it would be.**

The alarm on the wall beeped frantically, and Artie immediately pulled up the computer alarm. It read: "Artifact Disturbance."

"Oh, no," muttered Artie, quickly pulling out his Farnsworth. Knowing Pete and Myka had left theirs in the office, he tried calling Claudia, but there was no answer. "Dammit."

Artie rushed out of the office down the stairs to the main floor. He hurried along the aisles towards where the computer had indicated. When he rounded the corner of Allentown C, he found everyone on the ground at the other end.

"Myka!" Artie called as he hurried towards them. "Claudia! Pete!" He reached them and started shaking them awake. "What happened?"

Claudia groaned as she came around. "What happened?"

"That's what I asked," said Artie, spotting the rolled-up blueprints on the floor.

"David Miller's blueprints fell off the shelf," Myka explained as she sat up, hand to her head.

Artie rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you to be careful in the aisles?"

"It was an accident, Artie," said Steve as they all helped each other up.

"Okay, okay, everyone alright?" Artie asked.

There was a chorusing response of yes's.

"Good," said Artie, sighing in relief as he pulled on a pair of purple gloves and picked up the blueprints. "We've got a ping in Phoenix. People going missing." He pulled the rolling stairs over to the shelf and climbed up to the top. "Myka, you and Pete are gonna take this one." He replaced the artifact in its proper place and looked down at them all. "So, you two are gonna go to Phoenix and check into these disappearances…" He frowned as his eyes moved all over the place. "Where's Pete?"

Myka, Claudia and Steve each looked around the aisle, finding nothing but blank floors and empty aisles.

"Pete?" asked Claudia.

There was no response.

"Pete," called Myka.

"Pete!" called Artie, looking around from his high vantage point.

Pete was nowhere to be seen. No matter how loud they yelled or how far they looked, he was just gone.

"Pete!" Myka yelled, starting to panic.

"Did he touch anything?" asked Artie as he hurried down the stairs to them.

"Surprisingly, no," said Myka, trying to calm herself down to find her partner.

"Could the blueprints have affected him?" asked Steve.

"Only if he has a pacemaker," said Artie.

"Well, it was a pretty big blast that threw us all to the floor," speculated Claudia. "Maybe he hit his head and wandered off."

"Why would he wander off without checking on us?" asked Myka.

"Head trauma…" muttered Artie. "He could be confused, maybe even amnesic." He turned back to his agents. "You three split up and search for him. I'll be in the office."

"Doing what?" asked Steve.

"What else?" said Artie. "Searching for Pete. Go."

They all went their separate ways, calling Pete's name as they went.

*****************************************************************W13************************************************

**One hour later…**

Myka headed across the balcony and through the office door, finding Artie and Claudia bent over the computer.

"He's not in Middleton B through Sussex M," Myka told them.

Claudia looked back at her. "And he's not in Sussex N through Westminster C."

Steve came into the office behind Myka. "Didn't find him in Westminster D through Trenton V."

"Any luck?" Myka asked Artie in near desperation as she crossed her arms.

Artie sighed and looked up at them, seemingly avoiding their eyes. "This system can find any Warehouse agent inside the Warehouse."

"And?" asked Myka, wanting Artie to quit skirting around the issue.

Artie looked her in the eye, shaking his head. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" asked Myka, her arms falling to her sides. "What do you mean, nothing? What does that mean, Artie?"

"It means he's not in the Warehouse," Artie explained.

"But we were only out for, what, five minutes?" said Claudia. "He couldn't have left that quickly."

Artie turned to look out the windows into the warehouse aisles, jaw hanging slack.

"What is it?" asked Claudia.

"An artifact…" said Artie.

"What?" said Myka.

"When the shockwave knocked all of you off your feet, he could've hit an artifact," Artie thought out loud. "He could've been thrown back against a shelf and activated an artifact."

"And it, like, sent him somewhere?" asked Myka. "Or-or he's in another dimension like Joshua and the Rheticus compass?"

"I don't know," said Artie, hurrying back to the computer and typing frantically. "We need to catalog every artifact in that aisle and determine which one could have made this happen."

************************************************W13**********************************************************************

His head throbbed as the world came back into focus.

"Ow…" he moaned, putting a hand to his back as he sat up. He opened his eyes, blinking to clear them. "Mykes, what happened?"

There was no response, and as his vision became less blurry, he discovered why: the aisle was empty.

He searched the aisles all around him for any sign of his fellow agents, but the only thing different from before the Pulse Heard 'Round the World was that the blueprints had moved back to the shelf and the rolling stairs were next to it.

"Oh, this can't be good," muttered Pete. He felt in his pockets for his Farnsworth, but found nothing. "Oh, yeah…Left that in Artie's office."

Pete headed in that direction, knowing that if they weren't up there already, that he could call them with his Farnsworth. He made it to the spiral stairs and followed them up to the balcony. As he walked past the windows of the office, he looked inside to see Artie and Claudia by the computers as Myka and Steve stood near the door behind the piano keyboard. Artie was staring out of the windows, looking at him as he passed.

"Oh, thank God," breathed Pete, unconscious relaxing now that he knew they were safe. He walked through the door as the conversation inside the office met his ears.

"…another dimension like Joshua and the Rheticus compass," Myka was saying.

Pete walked up next to Myka, stopping just behind her.

Artie hurried to the computer, typing away frantically. "I don't know. We need to catalog every artifact in that aisle and determine which one could have made this happen."

"Can't we just dowse the whole aisle?" asked Steve. "You know, neutralize them all at once."

"No, no, no," said Artie quickly. "You can't destroy or neutralize that many artifacts at once or the fallout could wipe out half the Warehouse."

"Not to mention, there's no guarantee the artifact will reverse its effects," said Claudia. "Sometimes, depending on the artifact, the neutralizing goo is…well, neutral."

"What happens if we don't fix this soon?" asked Myka, worry all over her face.

"Fix what?" asked Pete, a frown on his face.

Myka jumped nearly a foot off the ground as everyone spun towards him with cries of shock and surprise.

"Whoa, sorry, guys!" chuckled Pete, his hands held up in front of him. "Didn't realize I'd snuck up on you."

"Pete?" asked Myka, staring around the office.

"Yeah," said Pete, heading over to the table by the door. "So, did that artifact cause more damage than we thought?" He grabbed his Farnsworth from the table. "Sorry you couldn't get ahold of me." He held up the Farnsworth, shaking it a little before pocketing it. "Keep forgetting this thing."

"Oh, my God…" breathed Artie, staring at him with wide eyes along with everyone else.

"What?" frowned Pete. "I promise I won't do it again."

"Pete, are you really there?" asked Myka, stepping closer.

"Yeah…" said Pete. "What is wrong with you guys?"

"**We're **fine," said Claudia. "**You**, on the other hand…"

"Me?" asked Pete, looking down at himself. "I'm fine. What…" His voice froze in his throat as his eyes widened. "What the…"

He wasn't there. He knew he was there; he could feel it. But his body just wasn't there. He spotted something out of the corner of his eyes, and he turned his body a little to see his Farnsworth floating in midair. Pete reached down and pulled the Farnsworth out of his back pocket, holding it in front of his face. The Farnsworth was floating in thin air.

Pete looked up at everyone else as their eyes stayed locked on that Farnsworth, the only thing they could see.

"I'm invisible?" asked Pete.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Awesome!" Pete exclaimed, proceeding to not-so-gently drop his Farnsworth onto the table. "Oh, I'm gonna have fun with this!"

"Pete, could you focus?" Myka told him, trying to follow him with her eyes based on where his voice was coming from.

"Aw, come on, Mykes!" said Pete, walking over towards her. "This is too much fun to be serious!"

"Pete, do you remember which artifact you touched?" Artie asked him.

Pete elected to stay silent as he slowly reached out towards his partner, trying not to make any noise.

"Pete?" Claudia asked as they all frantically looked around the room for anything that was moving on its own.

Pete finally got close enough, poking Myka in her right ribs, where he knew she was ticklish. Not only did Myka jump from the poke out of nowhere, but she also hissed in a great breath at the sensitive touch.

"Dammit, Pete!" Myka shouted as he laughed again.

"Pete!" Artie shouted. "Focus!"

"Yes, sir, boss man," Pete told him, giving him an invisible mock salute.

"Which artifact?" Artie enunciated.

"I didn't _voluntarily_ touch one," Pete said.

"But you might have when you were thrown back?" asked Myka.

"Yeah, probably," said Pete.

Artie turned and typed away at his computer. After a moment, it beeped at him. "I thought so." He hit another key and then hurried towards the door on his way towards the warehouse floor.

"Oh, I hate it when he does that!" Claudia exclaimed as the four agents rushed to follow him.

Pete opted to go last so no one was unknowingly bowling him over. They followed Artie back to the aisle where it all started. Artie headed for the end of the aisle, bending down to a bottom shelf as he pulled out a pair of purple gloves. Slipping them on, he grabbed an artifact and stood to face them.

Pete frowned at the object in Artie's hand. "A bowl?"

Artie held the small wooden bowl carefully in front of him. "Oh, this isn't just a bowl. This is a bowl recovered from the _Susan Constant_. It was one of the three ships that first settled Jamestown in 1607."

"That was the only Jamestown ship that was never found," said Myka.

"Oh, they found it, alright," explained Artie. "It was so decrepit by the time they salvaged it in 1905 that they didn't know which ship it was. All that was left were items like this."

"A bowl from a colonial shipwreck turns people invisible?" Steve asked. "I don't see the connection."

"No, this bowl was refurbished," Artie elaborated. "The colonists tore down an abandoned settlement and reused the wood for a lot of things at Jamestown: tables, chairs, forts, houses…" he held up the bowl, "tableware. There was a specific post on the old fort that many pieces were made from, including this bowl. Every piece was eventually destroyed…except this one."

"Okay, what's so special about the post?" asked Claudia.

Artie smiled, as though letting them in on a big secret—which, given the nature of their work, he probably was. "Only a single word carved into it…Croatoan."

Myka, Claudia and Steve all stared at the artifact in newfound wonder.

"No way…" breathed Myka.

"What's Croa-whatever?" asked Pete.

They all jumped a little, clearly having forgotten their invisible friend was there.

Myka frowned over in the general vicinity of his voice. "Did you not pay _any_ attention in school?"

Pete shrugged, even though no one could see it. "Of course I did!"

"Anything you remember other than what the teacher was wearing?" Claudia muttered with a smirk.

Pete paused for a while, before glaring at her, for all the good that it did. "Shut up."

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," said Steve. "Isn't there, like, a hat he could wear or something?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Claudia, reaching up and unfastening one of the many buttons on her vest. She held her hand out towards the empty space next to them. "Here."

Pete grabbed the button, pinning it to the front of his shirt.

"Much better," said Artie. "Now, Croatoan…In the year 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh—hired by Queen Elizabeth the First—dispatched a team of 115 colonists to establish a permanent English settlement in North America. Their settlement of choice was Roanoke Island on what today is Chesapeake Bay. The leader John White sailed back to England with the promise of returning with a relief fleet and supplies.

"Having been delayed by the Spanish Armada, sabotage and war, White did not manage to return to the Roanoke Colony until 1590. When he did, he found the place completely deserted. The only thing left behind was the word 'Croatoan' carved into a post of the fort. Being unable to mount a search team, the whereabouts of the Roanoke Colony are a complete mystery to this day. There are some theories: integration with the local tribes, lost at sea, attack. Nothing has ever been proven, which is why they call it 'The Lost Colony.'"

"So, the post absorbed the bad juju leftover from the vanishing colonists, and it now makes people literally vanish," speculated Claudia.

"Looks like," said Artie with a nod at the floating button.

"Well, then, let's goo this sucker!" said Pete.

Artie pulled one of their neutralizing bags out of his pocket.

"But before we do, can I just have a little fun?" pleaded Pete.

"Oh, yeah, sure," nodded Artie. "Don't let a little vanishing off the face of the earth forever spoil your fun!"

Pete frowned. "What, now?"

"This artifact's downside is that if you stay invisible for too long…you face away into nothing," Artie told them.

Pete stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, let's goo it."

Artie opened the bag and held the artifact above it. "Ready?"

Everyone nodded, including the invisible man that no one could see doing it.

_Maybe I should just stop doing that, _Pete thought. _No one can see me, anyway._

Artie dropped the bowl into the bag, and everyone ducked as the sparks flew. Except…there were no sparks. The agents all looked back at the bag before looking over in Pete's direction.

Pete looked down at his still invisible self, the button floating on the front of his shirt. He looked back up at everyone else. "This isn't good…is it?"

**Yes, I know. The chapters are getting slowly shorter. But I'm trying to work on getting them longer. This was just the perfect place to stop the chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**Is it just me or are my chapters getting shorter? Hmm...**

* * *

The five Warehouse 13 agents stared at the neutralizing bag as it held the wooden bowl.

"I should've known it wouldn't be that easy," Artie grumbled, pulling the bowl back out.

"I thought the bags always work," said Steve.

"They do," said Claudia.

"So, am I gonna fade away or not?" asked Pete.

"Let me try something," said Artie, stepping towards the floating button. "Hold your hand out."

Pete stretched his hand out as Artie held the bowl in front of him. Pete took hold of the bowl as Artie let go, watching the empty air closely for a few moments.

"Damn," Artie breathed, taking the bowl back. "Bifurcated artifact."

"You're kidding me," said Pete. "You bagged and shelved an artifact without getting the other half?"

"It was the only artifact there," said Artie.

"Well, what would be paired with a bowl from colonial times?" asked Steve.

Claudia shrugged. "Spoon? Plate?"

Myka had been staring down at the bowl closely, and she now spoke up, eyes narrowed. "Artie, look."

Artie glanced at her before looking down into the bowl.

Myka pointed into the inside of the bowl. "These scratches…They're only at the bottom of the bowl, like something has been crushed against it."

"Oh, my God…" breathed Artie, eyes widening in realization. "How did I not see that before?"

"It makes sense," nodded Myka.

"Mind sharing with the rest of us?" prompted Steve.

"This isn't just a bowl," explained Myka. "It's a mortar."

Claudia inhaled sharply. "Oh!"

"A mortar shell?" asked Pete.

"No, a mortar," Artie elaborated. "A mortar and pestle. These days, they're used to crush herbs and spices for cooking and such things, but back then, they also used them for pharmacy to crush medications. **That's** the other half of the artifact: the pestle."

"Well, how are we supposed to find that?" asked Claudia. "That's like a needle in a haystack."

"If we can find it," said Myka. "It has to be acting up, first of all. And who knows if it even has the same vanishing effect that the mortar has."

"Phoenix…" Artie breathed out, staring at the floor with wide eyes.

"What?" asked Pete.

"Phoenix!" exclaimed Artie, darting past his agents and hurrying his way down the aisle back towards his office.

"Artie!" called Myka.

"Wow, he really does do that a lot," said Steve before they headed up to the office after him.

They found Artie typing away at his computer.

"What does the Phoenix have to do with the missing artifact?" Pete asked as they all filed in the doorway.

Artie turned to them. "No, not _the_ Phoenix. Phoenix, Arizona."

"The mysterious disappearances," Claudia piped up as she pointed a finger at Artie in recognition.

"Exactly," nodded Artie. "The three people vanished in exactly the same manner as Pete, and the town's residents also report what they claim to be a rise in 'paranormal activity.'"

"Things moving on their own, disembodied voices…" nodded Myka, catching on.

"So, these people touched this pedestal thing and got whammied into invisibility," ventured Pete.

"Pestle, and yes," said Artie. "Myka, Claudia, you two head to Phoenix and find this thing."

"What about me?" asked Pete indignantly.

"Pete, you're invisible," Myka pointed out. "How exactly are you supposed to investigate when no one can _see you_?"

"I can snoop!" Pete said. "I can—"

"Not worth it," said Artie. "You'd only cause trouble like this."

"Hey!" Pete shouted.

"Pete…" said Myka.

Pete shrugged. "Yeah, okay."

"Take the bowl with you," Artie said as he put it in a bag and handed it to Myka. "You'll need to reunite it with its counterpart. Your flight leaves in an hour."

Myka and Claudia headed for the door to the umbilicus, each grabbing their Farnsworths on the way.

"Steve, you and I are gonna work on a way to neutralize this bowl," Artie explained as the girls left. "Maybe there's another artifact to reverse this one's effects."

"Got it," said Steve as he gave a nod.

"Pete, try to stay out of the way," said Artie, turning to his computer and searching the Warehouse's archives. He took the silence behind him as Pete's annoyed acquiescence.

Six hours later, and they had not gotten anywhere. The records did not show anything that could neutralize the artifact besides what they had already tried, and they had nothing on hand that could reverse invisibility. At least, nothing that wouldn't cause an even bigger problem.

"Well, that was our last option," grumbled Artie, turning his chair away from the computer.

Steve looked up from some files over by the table. "Well, how long do we have?"

"Well, from past cases with this artifact, the victims all vanished completely after four days," Artie told him.

"Okay, so…three and a half days left?" said Steve.

"Don't worry, Pete," Artie raised his voice towards the rest of the room. "They're find the artifact."

Silence greeted the statement, and they both looked up from what they were doing.

"Pete?" Artie called, waiting for a response. He looked over at Pete when none came. "Did you hear him leave?"

Steve shook his head. "I'm not sure. I was busy reading the case files."

"I didn't hear him leave," said Artie. "He hasn't said a thing since Myka and Claudia left."

Steve and Artie looked back at each other, eyes widening in realization.

* * *

Myka stared out the windshield at the highway in front of her as she drove. They had been on the road for about half an hour, trying to get to the first victim's home after their five hour flight from South Dakota to Phoenix.

Claudia's Farnsworth began buzzing, and she pulled it out and flipped it open. "What up, G-man?"

"Is he with you?" Artie asked immediately, peering up at them from the Farnsworth's screen.

Myka frowned over at him before returning her gaze to the road. "Who?"

"Pete!" Artie emphasized. "Is he with you?"

"No," said Myka. "Why?"

"We can't find him," said Artie.

"You what?" exclaimed Claudia.

"He hadn't said anything in a while, and then he wouldn't answer us," explained Steve from next to Artie on the screen.

"And the tracking system is no good in his condition," said Artie.

"You don't think he faded out and disappeared already, do you?" said Myka, panic starting to set in.

"Relax, guys," came Pete's voice from the backseat of the rental car. "I'm right here."

Artie leaned towards the screen. "He's there?!"

"Yeah, Artie, I'm here," said Pete.

Artie and Myka both shouted at the same time. "Pete Lattimer, I am going to kill you!"

* * *

**Oh, Pete, what are we going to do with you?**


	5. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**Do not fear! This story WILL go on! It just has to take a two week break or so while my family's in town! I will spend the hiatus coming up with awesome plot twists for you all!**

**I can't wait to get back to this story, but don't get to see family often, so...**

**Have a great Halloween, everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

"What part of 'stay put' did you not understand?!" Artie exclaimed from the Farnsworth.

"The stay put part," said Pete.

"Pete—" began Artie.

"Besides, shouldn't I be close to the artifact in case I need to touch it to reverse it?" said Pete.

Artie seemed to argue with himself over that for a moment before slumping in defeat. "Fine. Help them investigate. Myka, keep an eye on him."

Every agent—even the invisible one—gave him a look.

"You know what I mean," said Artie, signing off of his Farnsworth.

"How did you get here?" Claudia asked. "How did you sneak your way onto the trip?"

"You remember that guy that dropped his bags just before you got on the phone?" said Pete.

"Yeah," said Myka.

"That was me," said Pete. "I couldn't squeeze past the line, so I knocked his bags over so you would stop to help."

Myka shook her head. "I hope you know what you're doing, Pete. This is dangerous."

"You mean like a camera that can steal your youth, or a bookend that can swap your body and then make you explode—" Pete listed off.

"Okay, Pete," said Myka.

"—or a chair that can make you punch your partner repeatedly—" Pete went on.

"I got it, Pete," Myka bit off.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Pete.

"First victim," said Claudia, flipping open their folder of research. "Nate Gausman. Vanished eleven days ago. Last seen heading home after work. Wife reported him missing the next day."

"Anything connecting him to the other victims?" asked Pete.

"Alicia Paetis works at a local dentist office, Howard Nolland is a bartender at a pub, and Nate is a lawyer at Browning &amp; Dakner," Claudia explained. "No same social circles, church groups, or memberships to organizations. Nothing that I can find yet."

"Okay, we'll interview Gausman's wife and retrace his last steps," said Myka. "Hopefully, that will lead us to the next victim."

"Alright, go team!" Pete cheered before falling silent for a moment. He then spoke up again. "I guess the whole 'team huddle cheer' thing only works if you can actually see it."

Claudia gave a smile before raising her hand to hover over the gear shift to her left. Myka hesitated before placing her right hand on Claudia's.

"Awesome!" said Pete as an invisible touch wrapped over the top of Myka's hand. "Go Warehouse agents!"

The three of them gave a little cry as they raised their hands from their "huddle." They laughed together as they pulled into town.

* * *

**Yes, this is a painfully short chapter, but I seem to have trouble with writer's block on this story. This was as far as I could get and I hated making you wait for an update.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Six

**Yay! My muse is finally back from its vacation! I think re-watching Warehouse 13 really helped. Well, I promise not to make you all wait a whole month ever again! I've got several ideas to fill the story now.**

* * *

Myka and Claudia stumbled into their hotel room that evening.

"I swear, if I hear one more alien abduction theory, I'm gonna snap," grumbled Myka.

"Did we find anything?" asked Claudia, plopping down on one of the beds.

"Not a thing," said Myka. "No connections, no friends, nothing in common."

"Au contraire, mon…hermana," said Pete from who knew which corner of the room.

"Hermana is Spanish," Myka pointed out.

"So I don't know the French for sister," said Pete. "Sue me."

"It's soeur," answered Myka.

"Okay, forget it!" said Claudia, waving her hands to stop the conversation. "What is it, Pete?"

"Well, while you two were interviewing family and friends, I was busy doing some invisible snooping."

"What did you find?" asked Myka.

"Each of the victims had exactly one thing in common: they each harbored a secret passion for renaissance fairs," Pete told them.

"Renaissance fairs?" asked Myka.

"Yep," said Pete. "In fact, they all had a pamphlet for an annual fair that's been in town for the last two weeks and is still going on for the next three days."

"That lines up with the first disappearance," said Myka.

Claudia shrugged as she glanced over at Myka. "Good place to start."

"Alright, we'll head over there first thing in the morning," said Myka. "Let's get an early night."

She and Claudia began heading for their bags to get ready for bed.

"I'll take the sofa," Pete offered as there was a squeak of springs from said sofa.

Myka and Claudia both froze, exchanging hesitant glances before turning towards the couch.

"Um…Pete?" said Myka.

"Uh-huh?" came Pete's reply.

"We need to talk," said Myka.

"'Bout what?" asked Pete.

"You need to let us know where you are," said Claudia. "If we ask if you're in the room, you need to answer us. Don't go all peeping Tom."

"I would never do that!" said Pete, sounding affronted.

Myka and Claudia both scoffed at that.

"Well, not to you guys," said Pete in a quieter voice.

"Either way," said Myka. "Until we fix your little invisible problem, you announce when you walk into a room, and we'll ask when we walk in."

"Deal," said Pete as the television remote floated off of the table and the television turned on. "You guys can have the bathroom first."

"Thanks," said Claudia, heading to grab her things.

Myka headed over to the couch and looked down at the cushions. "You're not laying across the whole couch, are you?"

The cushions shifted before the right side sunk even further down.

"Not anymore," said Pete.

Myka sat down next to him, and they watched TV as they waited for Claudia to finish with her shower.

* * *

Myka, Claudia and Pete walked through the fair among all the people dressed in renaissance costumes.

"Okay, so, according to the manager, Alicia was a lady in waiting, Howard was a knight—one of the queen's guard—and Nate was a metal smith," said Myka. "Each of them volunteered in the afternoons after work."

"So, what does a handmaiden, a knight and a metal smith have in common?" Pete muttered quietly from somewhere behind them.

"There must be something," said Claudia. "Maybe they shared a meal."

"Well, let's start with the metal smith tent," said Myka. "Pete, can you take a look around? Maybe listen in on some conversations?"

"No problem-o, boss," said Pete. "I'll try not to scare you when I meet back up."

"Yes, please don't," Myka called out.

"Okay," said Claudia, unable to tell if Pete had already walked away or not. "To the smithy, Sam!"

Myka frowned at her as they headed in that direction. "Sam?"

"Samwise Gamgee," Claudia replied. "The Lord—"

"—of the Rings," Myka finished with her as she smiled.

"Exactly," nodded Claudia with a smile. "This is our quest, and the artifact, our one Ring."

"And I'd be Sam in this quest, huh?" said Myka.

"Of course," answered Claudia. "Sam is the best friend and partner of Frodo, who the quest centers around. In this case, Pete."

"Right," said Myka. "And everyone else?"

"Well, I'm Pippin, obviously, which would make Jinksy Merry," said Claudia.

"And Artie?"

"Artie?" Claudia smiled. "Artie is Gandalf."

Myka burst into laughter with Claudia as they reached the tent. A man dressed in working clothes of the renaissance—mostly thick leathers—was placing some new swords in the barrels outside the tent. He glanced up as they approached.

"Good day, young lasses," he greeted. "How might I assist ye on this fine day?"

Myka took her secret service badge out of her pocket. "We'd like to ask you some questions."

The smithy stepped closer to them. "Sure. What do you need to know?"

"Do you remember the last time you saw Nate Gausman?" asked Myka.

"Uh…I don't know," muttered the man. "Maybe two weeks ago?"

"Did you ever see Alicia Paetis or Howard Nolland?" asked Claudia. "One was a lady in waiting, the other was a knight."

Myka showed him pictures of the two victims.

The man frowned as he pointed at Howard's picture. "You know, I think I recognize him. Yeah, he came by last week to get a new sword."

"Did you see him after that?" asked Myka.

The man shook his head. "I sent him off to the prop tent to get a new scabbard for his sword. In fact, that's where I last saw Nate, too."

Claudia and Myka exchanged a look.

"Can you point us in that direction?" asked Myka.

"Yeah, just go down two rows and turn left," said the man, pointing down the aisle of tents behind them. "It's the second tent on the right, big blue one. Can't miss it."

"Okay, thank you for your time," said Myka.

Claudia walked away from the metal smith tent with Myka. "So, the artifact is in the prop tent?"

"They can probably use it for all sorts of things," said Myka. "It's a wooden stick, basically. Maybe the victims didn't even use it. Maybe they just tossed it aside while digging through all the other props."

"Well, we'll just have to test everything small, wooden and stick-like," said Claudia, pulling a pair of purple gloves from her jacket as Myka did the same.

The two of them made the left into a row of tents and headed for the big blue one on the right. They pulled aside the flap and stepped inside, staring in shock at what greeted them. Dozens of boxes and barrels stood gathered in the tent, filled with all manner of props. And about half of them were filled with hundreds of small wooden props.

"Holy wooden sticks, Batman…" Claudia muttered in exasperation.

* * *

**I couldn't resist that Batman line. It was so something Claudia would say!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Seven

**Okay, finally, I'm back! Where we last left our agents, Artie and Steve were in the Warehouse, doing research. Pete was scouring the renaissance fair, listening in on conversations. Myka and Claudia had just arrived at the props tent to test all the wooden props for the pestle they are looking for.**

**Welcome back!**

Pete took a look around to make sure no one was watching before pulling open the flap of the props tent and stepping inside. "Hey, guys, I found out that—"

He came to a stop at the sight in front of him. Myka and Claudia sat at either side of the tent, each with a neutralizing bag in hand, purple gloves on and wooden props scattered all over.

"Whoa…" said Pete as they looked up at him. "This looks like a job for Woody Woodpecker."

Claudia smiled. "Funny. I would have gone with Elijah Wood."

"Oh, good one," said Pete. "Can I use that?"

"_Anyway_…" said Myka, "we have tested every last one of these props, and nothing." She tossed a wooden hammer into a big pile.

"Maybe one of them took it home," suggested Pete. "Probably the last one that disappeared."

"Probably," agreed Myka. "What did you find out?"

"Oh, apparently, Alicia and Howard had a thing for each other," Pete told them. "There's even a rumor that they hooked up a few times."

"That's a good lead," said Claudia, jumping up and dropping the prop she had been testing. "Can we finally stop playing with wood?"

A snicker and giggle came from Pete's direction.

"Oh, come on, Pete!" grumbled Myka as she stormed out of the tent, accidentally clipping Pete's invisible shoulder on the way.

* * *

The three agents spent the afternoon searching Alicia's and Howards' separate apartments, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"I don't get it," said Myka. "If Howard was the last one to vanish, then he should have had the artifact. We don't have time to search the entire fairgrounds."

"Well, that just leaves Nate," suggested Pete. "Maybe we should search his place."

"But what if it isn't there?" said Myka. "We'd just be wasting time. And we don't have much left."

"We don't?" asked Pete.

Claudia sighed, staring down at her feet. "Artie called earlier. We only have two days left before you disappear."

"What?" exclaimed Pete.

"It's gonna be okay, Pete," Myka assured him. "We've been this far in the deep end before and always make it back. Something will pop up."

A Farnsworth began buzzing, and they all looked down at Myka's in her pocket.

"Speak of the devil…" muttered Claudia as Myka whipped it open and found Artie on the screen.

"Good news," Artie told them. "We have a lead."

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where?" asked Myka.

"Just got a Phoenix police alert that Lee Ann Barker reported her seventeen-year-old son Marcus as missing for the last two days," Artie told them. "He was last seen at the renaissance fair."

Myka looked up at Claudia. "That's why we couldn't find the artifact in the props tent. This kid has it."

"And he doesn't have a lot of time, either," said Pete.

* * *

**Yes, I know, very short. It's either this or I never get it done.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Eight

**Go back one chapter! I updated two today.**

* * *

"When was the last time you saw your son, Mrs. Barker?" Myka asked that evening.

"Wednesday after school," Lee Ann Barker told them. "He was going to head off to that renaissance fair with his friends. When he didn't come home that night, I called the police, but they said they couldn't file a report until he'd been missing for forty-eight hours. Can you believe that? Why wouldn't I know that my son hadn't come home? He wouldn't run away!"

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Barker," said Myka. "We're going to do everything we can to find your son."

"Can we ask you some questions?" asked Claudia.

Mrs. Barker nodded.

"These may seem a little weird, but bear with me," said Claudia. "Have you seen anything moving on its own?"

Mrs. Barker frowned and shook her head. "No."

"Anything not where you left it?" asked Claudia.

"No…" said Mrs. Barker.

"Any weird noises or voices?" asked Myka.

"Are you trying to ask me if my house is haunted?" said Mrs. Barker.

"Well…there has been an increase in—" began Myka.

"What does that have to do with my son being missing?" asked Mrs. Barker.

"We have reason to believe that—" began Myka again.

"—a _ghost_ took my son?" said Mrs. Barker, crossing her arms angrily.

"Weirder things have happened," muttered Claudia.

"_A ghost_?" Mrs. Barker exclaimed in disbelief at them.

Pete rolled his eyes from where he stood at the other end of the room. _Might as well move things along._

He reached out and shoved the coat stand next to him to the floor.

Mrs. Barker spun around with a jump, staring at it. "What…"

Pete then tip-toed to the hallway door, pushing it a little to get it to swing slowly open. Mrs. Barker was staring wide-eyed at it by now as Claudia and Myka took on panicked expressions.

"How are you doing this?" Mrs. Barker demanded.

"Um—" stuttered Myka. "It's—uh—"

Pete leaned closer to Mrs. Barker, blowing quietly on the back of her head to move her hair. Mrs. Barker jumped and gave a small shriek, spinning around towards him.

Pete had to duck her flying arm as he raised his voice to a higher pitch and whispered in his best Carol Ann impression, "They're here…"

Mrs. Baker screamed and took off down the hallway towards her room, slamming the door behind her.

Myka placed her hand on her hip as Pete laughed. "Was that really necessary, Pete?"

Pete gasped through his laughter. "I didn't see you coming up with anything."

"At least I could have come up with something that kept her in the room," said Myka. "Now, we'll never know if she's seen anything."

"After a reaction like that?" said Pete. "She definitely hasn't seen or heard any 'paranormal' activity."

"Well, that's…" stuttered Myka. "It's…" Her jaw hung open as her brain fought for the words—_any_ words. "You're a child." She stormed out of the house towards their car.

"Oh, yeah!" said Pete as he followed a giggling Claudia out of the house. "Score one for the Pete-ster!" He took a fake basketball shot—not that Claudia could see it—and proceeded to make noise as though a crowd were cheering.

"You might want to put a lid on it, Pete," said Claudia as a young boy ran into the yard of the Barker house.

"Oh, come on," said Pete as he headed towards the car. "My immaturity is the only thing I can lord over her." He frowned as the boy walked right up behind Claudia and made a grab at her backside.

"Hey!" Pete exclaimed, staring down angrily at the kid—for all the good that it did.

"Hey!" Claudia exclaimed at the same time as she spun around. "Pete, what the hell?"

"It wasn't me!" Pete told her. "It was him!" He pointed at the kid—again, what good did it do?

Claudia scanned the whole yard in the front of her. "Him who?"

Pete, however, was staring at the boy…who was staring right back at him.

"You can see me?" asked the boy.

Claudia jumped at the new voice. "Whoa! Jinkies…"

"Yeah…" said Pete.

Myka climbed out of the car and marched over to them. "What is taking so long?"

"Apparently, we just found another Invisible Man," said Claudia.

"You're Marcus Barker, aren't you?" asked Pete, suddenly realizing something. "And, wait, how can you see me?" He glanced down to see that, no, he was still invisible.

"I don't know," said Marcus.

"Well, we can't see either one of you," said Myka.

Pete began to realize why that was. "You've got the artifact on you, don't you?"

"The what?" asked Marcus.

"He does?" said Claudia.

"Well, think about it," said Pete. "It wasn't at Howards place, it wasn't at Alicia's place, it wasn't in the props tent. It would make sense that the last person to disappear would have it."

Marcus frowned as he dug in his pocket. "You mean this?"

Pete stared down at the six-inch long, thick, wooden stick in his hand. It was worn and battered and definitely looked as old as the bowl. Then he noticed that Myka and Claudia were staring at it, too.

"You can see it?" he asked.

Myka nodded as she put her purple gloves on. "As soon as he pulled it out of his pocket." She held her hand out. "May I?"

Marcus frowned again and pulled it back towards himself.

"Marcus, listen to me," said Pete. "It seems cool, but we only have four days of being invisible before we disappear forever."

Marcus' eyes widened. "That's what's happening?"

"What do you mean?" asked Claudia.

Marcus stepped towards a nearby fire hydrant and bent towards it, sticking his foot through it.

"Holy…" breathed Pete.

"What?" asked Myka.

"Um…" said Pete. "He's, uh, going all…not-solid."

Myka rolled her eyes. "You mean incorporeal?"

"Yeah, that," said Pete. "Is that gonna happen to me?"

"Probably," said Myka. "But we have them both now. You're gonna be fine. Claudia."

Claudia turned to get the mortar out of the car as Myka accepted the pestle from Marcus.

Pete watched in fascination as Marcus disappeared in front of his eyes. _So, it's true. The artifact makes you visible to other invisible people. Weird…_

Claudia pulled the mortar from the neutralizing bag with her gloves and turned to them. "How do you want to do this?"

"Pete, Marcus," said Myka.

Pete stepped up towards her.

"Both of you take hold of the bowl," said Myka.

Pete grabbed the mortar from Claudia, watching as his hands became visible to him. He was also instantly able to see Marcus as the boy grasped the other side of it. They looked up at each other as Myka eased the pestle in between them and held it over the mortar.

"Ready?" asked Myka.

"Go for it," said Pete.

Myka let go of the pestle as she and Claudia ducked away from it. Pete also braced himself as the pestle fell into the mortar, but nothing happened—no sparks, no bright light, nothing. Marcus gave them all weird looks. Myka looked up at the mortar and pestle, glancing at them.

"Well?" asked Pete.

"Nada," said Claudia, stepping over to take the items from them. "Let's see if this works." She handed the neutralizing bag to Myka, who held it open as she dropped them into it.

Once again, they braced themselves. Once again, nothing happened.

"Well, shucks," said Pete. "Now what?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Nine

"Well, what do we do now?" Myka asked Artie over the Farnsworth. "Neutralizing it didn't work, them touching it didn't work—"

"And you're sure this is the artifact?" asked Artie.

"Definitely," said Pete.

"Then there had to be something else," said Artie. "Something else there that interfered. I'll get back to you." He immediately signed off the Farnsworth.

"What could have interfered with that artifact?" asked Steve in Artie's office. "It did exactly what it was supposed to do: turned Pete invisible."

"I don't know, but we need to take a look at all of the other artifacts down there," said Artie, grabbing his Farnsworth and hurrying towards the door. "Come on!"

* * *

"Has Artie found anything yet?" asked Pete the next morning in their hotel room.

"He's been at it all night," said Claudia, stuffing her Farnsworth away. "He hasn't found anything that would have messed with the artifact."

"Well, he better hurry," said Pete.

"Why?" asked Myka.

Pete stared down at his leg, which had fallen through the coffee table he'd had it resting on. "I'm turning incorporeal."

"You?" exclaimed Marcus. "What about me? I got hit before you! I'm gonna disappear!"

"Both of you are going to be fine!" Myka told them. "Just calm down!"

They had let Marcus stay in their hotel room last night, preferring to keep him close in case something happened. Marcus was keeping hold of the pestle while Pete was keeping the mortar close so that they could at least see each other.

"Well, what do we do next?" asked Pete.

"Check the props tent," suggested Claudia. "See if there's anything that would have interfered with the artifact, something that would have the same effect as whatever interfered at the Warehouse."

Myka nodded. "Okay, you do that. Take Pete with you. I'll keep an eye on Marcus. We'll be looking through Howard, Alicia and Nate's records to see if anything they came into contact with could have done something."

"Got it," said Claudia, reaching out for the floating mortar bowl on the couch. "Come on, Bilbo." She hauled Pete off of the couch as they headed for the door.

"I thought I was Frodo," said Pete, glancing over at Myka.

"Technically, yes," said Claudia. "Although, in this case, Bilbo was more famous for using the invisibility than Frodo was."

"You could have just gone with Susan Storm," Pete suggested. "You know, the Invisible Woman?"

"I'm more of a Tolkein fan," Claudia waved off as she left the room.

"Tolkein?" exclaimed Pete as he supposedly followed her out. "Who cares about Tolkein? The Invisible Woman is only one of the hottest superheroes in all of comic book history…"

Their voices faded down the hall as Myka looked over at Marcus. "Well…shall we?"

* * *

Claudia glanced up and down the pathway around her as she held the props tent flap open for Pete to go through.

"Pretty soon, you won't have to hold doors open for me anymore," Pete grumbled as his leg swept through the tent pole.

"Well, enjoy it while you can," said Claudia as she followed him inside. "Pretty soon, you won't be able to."

Pete circled the props in the tent, looking at all the boxes as Claudia went the other direction. "What would even affect the artifact in here? There's nothing but simple wood and metal props."

"Who knows," said Claudia, looking all over her corner of the tent. "Won't know till we find it."

Pete glanced down at an electrical wire running up the tent pole. "I thought these renaissance fairs were all authentic."

"They are," said Claudia, stepping over towards him—or at least the floating mortar bowl he was holding.

"Then why is this one using electricity?" asked Pete.

Claudia and Pete followed the wire up to a small light hanging in the middle of the tent.

"They probably use it at night so they can see around the tent," shrugged Claudia. "Only the crew comes in here."

"Yeah…" said Pete. He looked around at the boxes. "So, where do you think this thing was kept?"

* * *

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Claudia informed as they walked back into the hotel room that evening. "There was nothing there that would explain the artifact acting up…"

Myka looked up at them with an uneasy look in her eyes.

"What?" asked Claudia.

Pete looked down at the unconscious Marcus lying in the nearest bed. "What happened to him? He's not fading away, is he? 'Cause he got whammied four days ago! I'm—"

"No, no, he got hold of my Tesla," said Myka. "Got curious and zapped himself."

"Oh," said Pete with a sigh of relief, setting the mortar down on the bed and turning to sit on the sofa. "Thank God. That's nothing. I used to do that at least twice a week."

He then threw himself onto the sofa…except he didn't. He flew right through the sofa and landed on the floor with a grunt.

"Pete?" asked Myka.

"Uh…this isn't good," said Pete, reaching a hand out and watching as it went right through the back of the couch. "My whole body is phasing out now."

"All right, that's it," said Myka, pulling out her Farnsworth and activating it.

Artie's face appeared on the screen. "Anything?"

"Pete's getting worse, and the kid's time is almost up," Myka told him. "Have you found anything?"

Artie gave a frustrated sigh. "No. There is nothing on any of these shelves that would have made the artifact act any differently."

Pete pulled himself to his feet as he headed over to Myka. "Well, come up with something, Artie! I don't want to disappear!"

"Artie, is there another artifact in the Warehouse that could reverse this one's effects?" asked Claudia as she moved over as well.

"I can try looking, but—" began Artie.

A groan from the bed drew their attention as Marcus began waking up.

"Hey, buddy," said Pete. "You feel okay?"

"Yeah…" muttered Marcus as he sat up.

"Great," said Pete, quickly going back to the Farnsworth in Myka's hands. "Artie—"

"Marcus?" said Myka.

Pete glanced up to see Myka staring in the direction of the bed. He glanced back at Marcus before looking over at Claudia, who was also watching him. "Wait, can you guys see him?"

Myka and Claudia slowly nodded.

"Yes, the artifact did work!" asked Pete as he looked down at himself. He was still invisible. "Or not…"

Myka glanced between the empty space next to her and a now visible Marcus. "How could it have worked for Marcus and not you?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Ten

"And you're certain you didn't do or touch anything unusual?" asked Claudia.

"No, nothing," said Marcus.

"Then how are you visible and I'm not?" Pete yelled.

"You two haven't really done anything different," said Myka. "Except…Pete went to the fair, and Marcus stayed here. Maybe there's something there that's keeping Pete from turning back—"

"No, no," said Artie from the Farnsworth. "That wouldn't be it. The artifact keeps them like this until it is reversed. Whatever happened, happened on Marcus' end."

"I'm telling you, I didn't do anything!" said Marcus. "If anything, it was your stupid ray gun!"

"Wait!" shouted Artie. "What ray gun?"

"He Tesla'ed himself," Myka brushed off.

"When was this?" asked Artie, suddenly extremely interested.

"About an hour ago," said Myka.

Artie visibly deflated. "That couldn't have been it. It was too long ago."

Claudia's eyes widened. "Oh, my God! That's it!"

"What?" asked Myka. "What's it?"

"The Tesla!" exclaimed Claudia.

"But that happened an hour before he turned visible," said Artie. "It couldn't have—"

"But, Artie, that's what triggered it!" said Claudia, hurrying over to look down at him on Myka's Farnsworth.

"In the props tent where this thing was stored, there was an electrical cable leading to a light at the top of the tent," Claudia quickly explained. "Near one of the boxes, there was a short. The cable kept sparking."

"And the EMP pulse at the Warehouse…" speculated Artie.

"Exactly!" said Claudia. "The artifact is triggered by—"

"Electricity," Myka and Artie joined in.

"But then, why did it take an hour to reverse?" asked Pete.

"Wait, Pete, where did you put the mortar?" asked Myka.

"On the bed," answered Pete. "Why?"

"Marcus didn't turn visible again until you came back," said Myka. "Maybe the two have to be joined together again, just like—"

"Edgar Allen Poe's pen and journal," said Claudia.

"But why would electricity have to trigger the artifact?" wondered Artie, staring off into space. "It doesn't make any—"

"Not important right now, Artie!" said Myka.

"Right, right," said Artie. "Okay, so, have Pete hold the two artifacts and then zap him with the Tesla."

"Are you serious?" whined Pete as Claudia pulled her gloves on and scooped up the mortar from the bed.

"Would you rather disappear?" said Myka as she set her Farnsworth down on the other bed and pulled her own gloves on.

"Man…" complained Pete as Myka took the pestle and headed over to Claudia.

"Okay, Pete, take them," said Myka.

Pete walked over to the girls and reached out for the mortar, but his hand went right through it. He stared at it for a moment before trying to grab the pestle with the same results.

"Come on, Pete," said Myka.

"I'm trying," said Pete in a slight panic. He tried grabbing them both again and again, but his hands just kept going through them. "I can't touch them!"

"Oh, my God…" breathed Myka. "Um…"

"Just concentrate, Pete," Artie's voice came from the Farnsworth on the bed.

Pete scrunched his eyes up in concentration, focusing everything he had on making his hands solid. He reached out once again, gasping as his hand made contact with Myka's.

Myka smiled and then immediately went back to business. "Take them, quick!"

Pete quickly grabbed hold of the mortar and the pestle, placing the pestle inside the bowl of the mortar. "Hurry! I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!"

Claudia grabbed hold of Marcus, easing him back towards the hotel door. Myka backed up as she pulled the Tesla from her jacket and aimed it at Pete.

"Sorry, Pete!" said Myka as she pulled the trigger.

The electricity shot across the room and hit the "floating" artifacts. The electricity enveloped them before stretching out and surrounding Pete. Pete let out a yell as the electricity zapped through him. Myka and Claudia watched as Pete suddenly appeared in front of them as he dropped to the ground.

"Pete!" shouted Myka, hurrying over to him.

Claudia quickly pulled the artifacts away from Pete's hands and threw them in a neutralizer bag, sparks flying up out of it.

Myka checked Pete over real quick before breathing out a sigh of relief. "He'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" asked Marcus.

"Yeah, he'll wake up soon," said Claudia. "Shouldn't be out for more than fifteen minutes tops."

"I was unconscious for almost an hour," said Marcus.

"Yeah, that usually happens the first time," said Claudia. "We Warehouse agents develop a sort of tolerance over time."

"So, is he visible?" asked Artie.

Myka grabbed hold of the Farnsworth, looking down at it. "Yeah, Artie, he's fine." She turned the Farnsworth so Artie could see the now visible Pete lying on the floor.

"Good, bag the artifact and bring it straight here," said Artie.

"Done and on our way," said Claudia.

Myka closed the Farnsworth and looked over at Marcus. "You should probably get home. Your mother is worried."

Marcus nodded and headed towards the door.

"Although, I probably wouldn't mention anything about magical artifacts or turning invisible," Claudia told him. "You'd only end up in the loony bin. Trust me."

Marcus smiled. "Right. Thanks." He headed out of the hotel, leaving the Warehouse agents alone.

* * *

Pete and Myka walked down the aisles of the Warehouse, Myka carrying the box with the mortar and pestle inside.

"So, that's how many artifacts that have almost killed one of us?" said Pete.

Myka shook her head. "I don't know. I stopped paying attention after the fifth one."

"Let's see…" mused Pete. "There was James Braid's chair…then the Spine of Saracen—"

"Oh, you're not gonna go through them all, are you?" asked Myka.

"I just think we should keep a list, that's all," said Pete. "For compensation purposes. One of these days, they're gonna have to give back for everything we do for this job."

They reached the shelf they wanted, and Myka set the box on it.

"They probably do keep track, Pete," said Myka. "After all, it's Mrs. Frederick. She seems to know when _everything_ happens around here."

Myka opened the box to set the tag and then closed it again, tapping on the screen next to it to show as complete.

Pete stared down at the display screen.

**THE ROANOKE COLONY**

**MORTAR &amp; PESTLE**

**PROPERTIES:**

**Renders the user invisible**

**WARNING:**

**Will cause dematerialization**

"Did Artie ever figure out why electricity was needed to activate it?" asked Pete.

(Author's Note: the following theory is just me trying to make the story work with the history. This theory is entirely made up.)

"He did some research and found a little-known theory that the settlers were driven out of Roanoke by a storm," said Myka. "The colony tried to abandon the settlement for safer shelter when the storm surge caught them unawares and swept them out to sea. Artie figures the lightning strikes during that storm would have been exceedingly high, and we all know how lightning storms love to mess with artifacts."

"Like the Riverton Maximum Security Prison," nodded Pete as he turned away from the shelf. "That makes sense."

"So, each time one of the victims was looking through the props, they grabbed the pestle, which was being charged by the short in the electrical wire near it," said Myka as they headed down the aisle. "The EMP pulse activated the mortar, which you then hit when you were knocked back. Then, it just needed the electrical trigger again when the two of them were brought back together."

"Wow, no wonder none of the other victims back when they first snagged the mortar came back," said Pete. "That is crazy."

"Well, it's over now," said Myka, glancing back at the shelf. "We have both of them snagged, bagged and tagged."

"And now, I could go for some pudding," said Pete.

Myka rolled her eyes. "You haven't stopped thinking about pudding since this whole thing started, have you?"

"No, I have not," said Pete.

"You think you could go five minutes without thinking of food?" asked Myka.

"Not possible," said Pete.

The two of them left the aisle, bickering and joking back and forth. And as they headed back into Artie's office, the Warehouse descended into silence, its artifacts stored and guarded in their final resting places. All was good and safe in the Warehouse once again.

A spark erupted from the box of the new arrival on the Warehouse shelves, traveling along the aisle and burning out after a moment.

…Almost good and safe.


End file.
